Welcome to the Building Trades Employers’ Association of New York's (BTEA) monthly Safety Brief, your virtual briefcase of important safety news and updates. This digital publication contains highlights from the BTEA New York's Construction Safety Committee's October 18th meeting with representatives from the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB), New York City Department of Design and Construction, Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). | | |
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October 2023 Incident Report
● In September, DOB responded to 783 complaints and issued seven Local Law 196 violations. Construction Safety Compliance and Construction Safety Enforcement performed 3,153 job site inspections, issuing 962 violations.
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- There were 246 partial and full Stop Work Orders (SWOs), roughly 25 percent of the month’s inspections. Turnaround time for reinspection averaged a day and a half.
- In September, there were 52 incidents resulting in 52 injuries, including one fatality. A worker fell through an opening in a floor – a reminder to identify and secure floor openings and review hazards and safety protocols on site.
- Falls were the leading cause of injury (52 percent). 38 percent of incidents were non-construction-related medical emergencies (stroke, dehydration, etc.)
- For 35 percent of injury responses, DOB has found the cause to be worker error and that the contractor had met all safety obligations and requirements.
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Industry Service Notices
- All CCD1 zoning requests and second plan reviews must now be submitted through DOBNow: Build exclusively. No emails or hard copies will be accepted.
- Effective October 16, all requests for permit violation wavers must use L-2 forms
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Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
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OSHA’s recent NEP directive focused on fall prevention has been in effect since August. The new language states compliance safety and health officers can now open inspections whenever they observe anyone working at height.
OSHA is reviewing comments on proposed changes to personal protective equipment (PPE) regulations to ensure the design and selection of equipment is a proper fit for each employee. OSHA is also accepting comments on clarification of the Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process, which would allow workers to select a third party not employed by their company to represent them during an OSHA "walkaround" inspection. Comments can be forwarded electronically at https://www.regulations.gov.
There are some changes coming to OSHA’s injury tracking application. For the past several years, employers have had to report their injury and illness information on the OSHA webpage. As of January 1, 2024, certain employers will have to report additional information related to the ages of injured workers. The rule change will primarily apply to construction codes 2213 (water, sewage or other systems) and 2381 (foundation structure and building exterior).
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MTA Construction & Development | | |
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September saw a slight reduction in reported incidents from the previous month but an increase in lost times. Specifically, there were 27 incidents resulting in eight lost times (up from four in August) with six recordables (up from four in August). Caught-ins/betweens accounted for 50 percent of lost time incidents; struck-bys/against accounted for 29 percent. No serious injuries were reported for the month.
Overall, MTA lost time incidents for 2023 are trending lower than in 2022, with a total of 43 lost times, a decrease of 12 percent. The majority of lost times fall into the slips, trips, and falls category.
Recordables are trending slightly higher than 2022, 45 for the year to date – a two percent increase. Struck-bys/against account for 45 percent of total recordables.
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Fire Department of the City of New York | | |
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Permit update: Arc welding now requires a permit from FDNY. Many have been unaware of the requirement. Details can be found here and here.
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New York City Department of Design and Construction | |
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New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC)
Ian Campbell, Administrative Project Manager at DDC, reported two recent fatalities. In Brooklyn, a worker fell through a roof down eight floors. A second incident in Queens involved a pedestrian fatally struck by a dump truck.
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Shane Skennanto, Corporate Safety Vice President at Hunter Roberts Construction Group, reports on a Philadelphia safety presentation connected to a fatal incident 18 months ago. Bottom line: the contractor was under intense pressure to rush the job, contributing to the accident and resulting fatality. The incident provides a cautionary reminder to push-back when the safety of workers may be compromised. | |
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Patrick Wehle, BTEA’s Executive Vice President, announced the launch of the group’s new Associate Membership category, now available to companies that do business with the construction industry through manufacturing, selling a product, or providing a service. Membership starts at $5,000 and comes with many member benefits. Companies registering by October 31 receive two tickets to the BTEA’s 120 Anniversary Gala in November.
He also shared DOB’s recently posted Stop Order Top Ten List, detailing the most common violating conditions resulting in SWOs. Multiple violating conditions tops the list at 32.9 percent, followed by work not conforming to submitted documents (14.8 percent).
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This report was provided by the BTEA New York | |
The Building Trades Employers' Association of New York (BTEA) is the construction contractor's unified advocate for construction safety standards, professional development, government affairs, public relations and fostering communication between public officials, public and private owners, labor, and the public. Realizing that a construction industry is essential to the vibrant future of New York City, its activities are dedicated to a building environment meeting the highest of environmental standards, integrity, cost efficiency, productivity and value that contributes to improving the quality of life in New York City. The BTEA represents 24 Construction Manager, General Contractor, Subcontractor and Specialty Trade contractor associations with over 1,200 individual contractor members. | | | | |
